Doors open at 19:00 and Kris's lecture will start at 19:30.

Liverpool Humanists is delighted to invite you to our Darwin Day Lecture in celebration of Charles Darwin’s Birthday! Come and experience Walking with Darwin: combining evolutionary biology and biomechanics to understand human gait, presented by the biomechanist Dr Kristiaan D'Août.

Throughout millions of years, humans have uniquely evolved to become exceptionally proficient walkers. Bipedalism is one of our distinctive traits, and an important step on the journey from Homo to Homo sapiens. Research on communities such as the San from Southern Africa (the oldest inhabitants of Southern Africa) illuminates the pivotal role of walking in our evolutionary journey. This lecture will delve into the significance of upright walking adaptations, underscoring their foundational impact on our identity as a distinct, moral, and intellectually advanced species.

Dr Kristiaan D’Août is a zoologist by background, having originally studied at the University of Antwerp. He has carried out research in the field of biomechanics on humans and other animals for over 30 years. He now works as a Senior Lecturer in Biomechanics within the Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences of the University of Liverpool, where he combines his fundamental interest with clinically relevant work, focussing on the function of the human foot and the impact of footwear as we age.

Kris is also a humanist, a kayaker, a toxophilite, and a keen photographer. He is married to Mieke.

This is a public talk, open to those of any religion or belief. It is a free event, but we will be making a collection to cover the costs of room hire, bringing future speakers to Liverpool, etc. Please give generously if you can. Please don’t feel embarrassed if you can’t.

You can learn more about the life of Charles Darwin (1809-1882) on the Humanist Heritage website.